TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bradley,Cathy J.
AU  - Neumark,David
AU  - Barkowski,Scott
TI  - Does Employer-Provided Health Insurance Constrain Labor Supply Adjustments to Health Shocks?  New Evidence on Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 18060
PY  - 2012
Y2  - May 2012
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18060
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18060.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Cathy J. Bradley
Department of Healthcare Policy and Research
Virginia Commonwealth University
830 E. Main Street
Richmond, VA 23219 
E-Mail: cjbradley@vcu.edu

David Neumark
Department of Economics
University of California at Irvine
3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA  92697
Tel: 949-824-8496
Fax: 949/824-2182
E-Mail: dneumark@uci.edu

Scott Barkowski
Department of Economics
3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA  92697
E-Mail: scott.barkowski@uci.edu
AB  - Employment-contingent health insurance creates incentives for ill workers to remain employed at a sufficient level (usually full-time) to maintain access to health insurance coverage. We study employed married women, newly diagnosed with breast cancer, comparing labor supply responses to breast cancer diagnoses between women dependent on their own employment for health insurance and women with access to health insurance through their spouse’s employer. We find evidence that women more dependent on their own job for health insurance reduce their labor supply by less after a diagnosis of breast cancer – the estimate difference is about 5.5 to 7 percent. Women’s subjective responses to questions about working more to maintain health insurance are consistent with the conclusions from observed behavior.
ER  -